If your dog is like many, he tends to try to sneak a bite of everything that you’re eating. While there are several foods that you should keep away from your dog, there are those that are tasty and healthy for your furry friend. A safe treat for dogs to enjoy on occasion is a cucumber.
There are very few calories in cucumbers, making them a good food option for your dogs. They are also crunchy, which can help keep the teeth clean and strong. Some dog biscuits have 40 calories in one serving. One-half of a cup of cucumber slices only has eight calories.
It’s a good idea to give your dog cucumbers in slices that are easy to eat. Keep an eye on your dog as one of the risks is that they choke on them. Since cucumbers are tasty, your dog might overeat as well. Although cucumbers are safe, you want to make sure your dog continues to get his daily food as well. Most of the time, your dog won’t have any serious side effects from eating too many cucumbers, but some dogs can get an upset stomach and have loose bowel movements compared to what they would normally have. If your dog tends to eat his meal in a short time and in only a few bites, then you should consider giving him only a few slices of cucumbers at a time so that he doesn’t choke.
Try to limit the number of cucumbers or other vegetables in your dog’s diet to about 10 percent of what they eat. Larger dogs would eat more than a smaller dog, but they shouldn’t eat more extra foods than their normal bowl of dog food.
You can give cucumbers to your dog if he needs to lose weight or if your dog doesn’t get a lot of water during the day. Even though cucumbers are healthy, stay away from giving your dog pickles because the extra salt and other ingredients can sometimes be harmful.
